1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to the technical field of devices for dispensing wiping materials of soft tissue type, such as hand wipes, toilet paper, and for general wiping and cleaning applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Applicant has already worked on dispensers providing pre-cut wiping material. Different technical solutions have thus been provided, which have been described in patents WO 2010/089467, WO 2010/063917, WO 2010/034915, WO 2010/007261, WO 2009/150342.
A complementary development has been brought to patent WO 2010/089467 by French patent FR 1058449 with, in particular, the arranging of a cover capable of being raised to close the device, and including a device for cleaning the strip of pre-cut material.
This last device is of the type comprising a housing directly or indirectly receiving the pre-cut wiping material intended to be dispensed. This housing, of parallelepipedal shape, receives a closing cover which may be hinged to be opened or closed by being raised upwards and then locked. Such a housing may be fitted with a module for receiving the material. Such a module thus comprises a front transverse support wall for receiving different means. The strip of material is guided in any appropriate manner by the module, to be conveyed to the device outlet between the front wall and the opposite surface of the cover. The module is capable of having a flap hinged with respect to the set-back support plate. The flap is arranged directly opposite to the internal surface of the cover, with the material passing in the space between the two. In this specific configuration, the issue used to be the maintaining of the wiping material flat as it is dispensed. This means that the wiping material should not be folded or creased, so that it remains flat all throughout its surface.
The Applicant has, in such conditions, designed and developed a technical solution disclosed in French patent application FR 1058471. According to this application, the device for dispensing a rolled or folded pre-cut wiping material comprises a housing with an associated cover raised from the top. The housing receives a module capable of being quickly assembled and removed receiving the strip of pre-cut material. The module is provided with a transverse support plate capable of receiving small shaped plates capable of resiliently pivoting. A flap is pivotally assembled with respect to said module and to the support plate by being arranged in front of it and opposite to the inner front surface of the cover, to allow the passing of the strip of material. The flap, the small plates, and the cover are fitted with means enabling to dispense the pre-cut strip of material in such a way that it remains flat.
In French patent application FR 1058471, a pivoting flap which is fitted on its edges with swivel axes to enable it to pivot towards the back is arranged at the front of the module. The flap is intended to be opposite to the inner surface of the cover on closing thereof, while leaving a space to let the strip of material pass therebetween. The flap has a specific configuration with a central cutout area of trapezoidal configuration, extending at its end in a staged portion, itself having rounded ends. An intermediate horizontal portion is placed between the bottom of the central recess and the lower end of the flap. Two support points are thus formed at the end of the trapezoidal recess and of the horizontal junction plane, having a function which will be specified hereafter.
The module further comprises a transverse support plate also stiffening the module. This support plate is especially intended to receive small shaped plates which are capable of slightly protruding from the lower end of the flap. The small plates are fastened by their upper end to the support plate and are capable of resiliently pivoting against pull-back means. Two small plates are thus arranged and are located on either side of the trapezoidal opening located in the median plane of the flap. The small plates protrude from the flap in its lower portion and they are each fitted with at least one, and preferably two obliquely-arranged tongues. These pairs of tongues face outwards with respect to the trapezoidal cutout of the flap.
In the context of French patent application FR 1059244, the cover is fitted with a transverse guide bar arranged in the lower portion of said cover between its lateral flanges. The guide bar is located, on raising of the cover, in a plane higher than the upper portion of the flap and in a set-back plane. The cover has a central recess with, on either side, hollow patterns for cooperating with matching shapes formed on the flap. The pivoting flap has a central area with flat portions interconnected by vertical connection strips providing a curved configuration. Said flap has a second area formed by an upper band curved with respect to the portions in an inward-directed plane. The flap has a third area in its lower portion provided with a central recess continued by connection walls comprising protruding means cooperating with the hollow patterns formed on the cover, and boss-shaped means receiving stop axes for cooperating with stop pads arranged on the support plate.
In the context of French patent application FR 1060322, modifications have been made at the same time to the pivotally-assembled flap with respect to the module and to the support plate, and in relation with the device cover. More specifically, the flap has at least one recess enabling to catch the strip of material and at least one long slot arranged in a plane forming an angle with respect to the lower edge of the flap. Said slot thus defines an area for receiving at least one rib formed in a complementary configuration on the cover by penetrating, on closing of the cover, into said slot. The cover has at least one rib fitting into the slot formed on the flap and at least one recess for the passing of the strip of material. At least the rib formed on the cover has a tear drop configuration with a progressive height from its base inside of the cover to the lower end thereof. The rib has in its upper portion a rounded shape having the function of allowing the separability of a format of pre-cut strip of material from the rest of the strip.
Within the framework of his research, the Applicant has desired to further optimize the design of the dispenser of rolled or Z-folded pre-cut wiping material, by using the cover for its sole function of protection of the housing and of the module enabling to dispense the strip of material.
The Applicant has also desired to give the dispenser a greater autonomy of use by providing the possibility of introducing a reserve roll of material when the roll of material in service is nearly depleted.
The Applicant has also worked on the ability to adjust the passage clearance of the strip of material at the device outlet, taking into account the thickness of the strip of material, which may vary according to the nature of the applications of the device, such as the dispensing of hand wipes, toilet paper, or others.
The Applicant's approach also has been to search for a design of a dispenser of pre-cut material which can be able to receive customized protection covers, of different configurations according to the users' needs.